


Afraid of the Dark

by Fangirlingmanaged



Series: Endgame Therapy [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Hurt Tony Stark, M/M, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony is a star basically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-18 11:10:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16993899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fangirlingmanaged/pseuds/Fangirlingmanaged
Summary: Tony is stranded in space with Nebula. Part of the journey is the end, and his has come. It's a good thing he's surrounded by family.





	Afraid of the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> "I'm not scared, not at all  
> Why would a star, a star ever be afraid of the dark?  
> I'm not scared  
> I'm not scared, even from the start  
> I'm not scared of the dark."

_Part of the journey is the end._

 

Tony had made peace with his own end back when the Battle of New York happened. Back then, when their biggest problem was a demigod on a power trip, it had felt like a good ending. It felt like… his arch was up. He had done everything he could, and after all he was just a man, anway. Broken. Vulnerable. Tiny. Human.

 

Then _they_ had come, when he was floating around in that great vastness, and _they_ had told him. _They_ had sent him back with a promise. His time would come. Just… not yet.

 

Maybe his time has come now, he thinks. Sitting alone in this ship surrounded by _them_. Maybe it was time. It was time that he finally come _home_.

 

_Can I come home now?_

 

_They_ don’t answer. _They’re_ right there, he can see _them_ ; part of him thinks he can feel _them_ through the glass. Warmth and comfort and home. Yet, _they_ don’t answer when he calls. He’s been calling, for two years now, and _they_ don’t answer. Not since _he_ left.

 

_Sunshine._

 

Like calls to like, _they_ had told him. That’s why _they_ had been brought together after the Battle of New York. _They_ were made of the same stuff. Or, maybe, not the same but similar enough. _He_ had felt just like _them_. Warm and comforting and safe.

 

_He_ had taken everything away two years ago.

 

All that was left was this, what he feels now. the dark and cold. Having been made used to it two years ago isn’t helping him at all. He still feels it, deep in his bones, the cold. The loneliness. He feels as though being surrounded by family should feel different. This isn’t it.

 

_Is it time yet? Can I come home?_

 

His body gives up. He makes it a point, stubborn till the end, to look at _them_. If his time to drift off has finally come, even when _they_ don’t speak to him, he wants to see _them_. Like calls to like, and _they_ had called him. From the very beginning, _they_ had called him. Even if _they_ are silent now he wants to see _them_. The cold might be seeping into his bones, and every breath might be a challenge, but his time is up. It was time to go.

 

His eyes are barely open when he sees it, a bright flash. It seems to grow bigger, grows brighter and warmer, the more looks at it. His smile grows, and though he’s sure the next time he blinks his eyes won’t open, he tries his best. He knew it. He knew _they_ wouldn’t leave him. Even when the others left him, countless others, _they_ were still there with him. So as the point of light grows and grows, he can’t find it himself to regret the path that brought him here.

_Maybe I can see Peter now._

 

_Goodbye, Sunshine._

Then he closes his eyes, and drifts.

 

 

                                                                        ***

Waking up is, frankly, a disappointment. When he blinks again, nothing around him has changed. He squeezes his eyes shut, can feel the hot trail of tears running to his temples and he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care because it’s unfair. He was so close. He could feel _them_. And now he’s on the same fucking place and nothing has changed. His stomach still feels hollow, his bones still feel brittle, and the nightmare in his head is still the same.

 

And yet.

 

He sits up from the coat he had commandeered since he and Nebula had left Titan. There’s something on his arm, and when he turns he realizes it’s an IV line, and that despite his initial assessment nothing is the same. Turning his head, he realizes that although the ship might look similar it is not the same. For one, he can’t see them outside anymore. This medbay looks different, shinier and bigger, and though the cot remains uncomfortable at least it’s not the thin lumpy mess the other one was.

 

He turns from side to side, his eyes narrowed, but nothing happens. He sits up, pulls the IV line off his arm, and nothing happens. Tentatively, he stands up on wobbly knees and realizes someone has put him in new clothes. His vest and sweatpants are gone, and instead he’s on some kind of one piece suit. It reminds him of his old flight suit. He notices his hoodie and sweatpants, the nanotech ones, placed on top of the bedside table. Stupid, but he won’t question it. He pulls the hoodie and the sweats on, though his suit is damaged, it still brings him a little bit of comfort.

 

Nebula.

 

The name jolts him into moving faster out of the medbay. Maybe not his smartest plan, but he won’t—he refuses to lose someone else. When he needed her, Nebula had forced him to push forward. She had made him eat. She had kept him warm when he refused to care for it. And once, even though they both may have hated it, she had placed a hand on his shoulder and hadn’t moved when he finally cried. He won’t—he _can’t_ lose her again.

 

“He will not like this,” _Nebula._

“I don’t think any of us have a choice. I saw what that thing can do. I was there. Half my fleet, gone. They said it came from there, so that’s where we’re going.” It’s another female voice, and it rings a bell for Tony though he doesn’t know why. It’s higher pitched than Nebula’s but there’s something about her accent that makes recognition sound in his head

“So were we. In Titan. We saw it happen.”

“Who did you lose?”

“My sister.” Tony hadn’t expected her to admit to that.

“And him?”

“Everyone,” and there’s sympathy in her voice. Tony realizes that in however long they’d floated around together, maybe they had become friends. Like calls to like, and they had both been broken by Thanos beyond repair.

“Then he’ll understand. He’ll want to make the bastard pay, too.”

“You’re damn right, I do.” Tony answers before Nebula can, walking into what he assumes is the cockpit. Nebula turns with an expressionless face, but her eyes scan him from head to toe. He nods at her, and she seems to find him hale enough to give a tiny nod back. He wants to thank her, wants to tell her how fucking grateful he is that she didn’t leave him, wants to tell her so many things, but now is not the time.

The other person turns around in her chair, she has short blond hair and is wearing a suit that reminds Tony far too much of _him_ , and Tony feels his jaw drop.

_No way._

“What?” she says uncomfortably, her eyebrow arched.

“Carol,” the name tumbles out of his mouth. He can’t fucking believe it. They had looked for her fucking everywhere. Fury had said he had lost contact, Rhodes had gone near mad with anger, and Tony had ended up with far too many burns trying to make a way to track her. And here she is. “Holy shit, it is good to see you.”

“You know me?” she says, a spark in her eye. She’s still suspicious, Tony can tell, but she’s not as stiff as before.

“Of course I fucking know you, Danvers,” Tony can’t help the small smile that comes out.

“Danvers?” she asks, and she frowns at him. Then she puts two fingers up to massage her temple, and Tony gets it. They don’t call him a genius for nothing, and this looks disturbingly familiar. He wonders what they made her do, and whether or not they had to recalibrate her the way Romanoff did to Barton.

“You don’t remember us, do you?” Tony asks, a knot in his throat.

“I—I can’t. The Kree, they—”

“Kree?” Nebula snaps, she had remained silent through their conversation but now her suspicion is in full force. She springs to her feet and places herself between Carol and Tony. His alarm bells ring shrilly in his head and he forces the gauntlet to form around his hand.

“What are you?” he asks. Old friend of Rhodes’s or not, he’s not about to risk their new found safety. Or walk right into the plans of an enemy. He’s done that before. Not a fan.

“Not anymore,” Carol says tightly. “Look, I can tell you my sob story later if you want. Though I don’t remember much of it, and I don’t think telling you is going to be much help. Right now, we’re entering Terra’s solar system and we will be there soon enough. So how about a plan before we get there?”

“Terra?” Tony asks, though he already knows. A cold sweat breaks out in his forehead.

“Your home,” Nebula says, and her voice is kinder than he has ever heard.

_Sunshine_ , he thinks as he finally stares out the cockpit’s window. A lump rises to his throat.

“Home,” he croaks out.

And though he doesn’t feel ready, will never be fucking ready, he lets them drag him into a seat. He doesn’t really contribute much, can’t really think of anything that might be helpful, but his eyes remain locked on _them_ , around him.

 

_Hello?_ He tries though he knows it’s futile. They haven’t answered him in a while.

 

_Ah, there you are_.

 

Tears spring to his eyes. He hasn’t heard _them_ in so long. He didn’t think he ever would again.

 

_I’m home._

 

_Not yet, they_ say. _Still have a ways to go. He’s waiting._

_I’m afraid_ , he admits. _I’m afraid of the dark._

_Why would one of us ever be afraid of the dark?_

Tony smiles, this time. Maybe _they_ are right. He’s so close to the sunshine now. He only has a ways to go. And _they’ll_ be there, now, keeping him company. He was never meant to be so far away.

 

_I’m coming,_ he thinks.

 

_Sunshine._

_I’m coming._

**Author's Note:**

> Basically, based in an AU where Tony is a star :)  
> Based on the song "Afraid of the Dark" from the Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse soundtrack  
> [ which you can find here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERnzo8GQ2Zg)


End file.
